a slow glowing dream
by daughter-of-october
Summary: Sherry Blendy&Lyon Vastia II Why was she still trying to run? II Inception AU
1. I

**_a slow glowing dream_**

**Characters**: Sherry Blendy, Lyon Vastia

**Summary**: Why was she still trying to run?

**Inception AU**

**[Part 1/6]**

* * *

**I.**

* * *

She had been in Crocus for three weeks when he found her and she knew instantly that everything was about to get extremely complicated. It became obvious the moment he strolled into the little café at the corner of two busy streets and headed straight for the table where she sat in the sun, pink hair gleaming as always and sunglasses on her nose.

He still looked the same and for some reason, this hurt more than it should have. But she was no longer eighteen and desperately in love with a man who could hardly care less about her and her feelings. She had grown up and she had other goals in life than to work for him and to prove over and over that she was deserving of his attention.

She was more than that and as he had never seen it, it was his loss and not hers.

It would have been easier saying no if she was not still in love with him but it seemed like her _once-upon-a-time_-promise to love him as long as there were stars at the sky had turned into a curse. Back then, she would have gladly sold her soul for the idea of him coming to look for her, of him telling her that she was needed.

Now, she would – _just as gladly_ – have sold her soul for him turning around and walking out of her life, for him to leave her alone with his far-too-complex-to-work plans and ideas that were more than just a little crazy.

But he did not show any mercy as he pulled back a chair to sit down on the other side of the table. "You had us running all over Fiore," he said and she sighed.

"Get to the point," she demanded because the faster he would dish out whatever offer he had to make, the faster she could reject it and forget that he was still out there – and she could go back to pretending that she was long past caring about him and his ambitions.

(She really was not.)

"There is a job," he said, waiting for her reaction. "The team says they can't do it without you so … would you consider coming back?"

She snorted and nearly spilled her coffee over her pretty creamy white dress. "How long have we worked together?" she asked as she flipped her braid over her shoulder. "Actually, don't answer this or you will make me feel old. The point is, you know my answer to this question. I'll not return. I'm done with the team, done with your plans, done with all the work in the shadows. Yes, I know that I said that I will stay as long as you want me. But really, I was sixteen then."

Sixteen and blindly in love.

"It doesn't have to be like then," he replied as he slid the usual brown envelope over the table. "Seriously, I know that I was a bastard back then … but this time, I can keep the promise I make. I can protect you, I am stronger now than I used to be."

"It wasn't a matter of your strength that I was beaten like a newbie during the Galuna Assignment," she snarled, her face darkening with the memories. "You chose not to come to my aid because you and your goddamn _man pain_ was more important to you than my life. Heartfilia nearly killed me. Granted, she had no clue what she was doing. But you know that I was vulnerable. You chose to sacrifice me for your goddamn ego."

She had spoken up, she had finally said what had bothered her for so long and she was rewarded with the feeling of relief. It was not that she hated him for his decision, it was more that she had no longer interest in working with him. It had been five years since she had left the team, since she had started to pursue her own career. She had accepted that it would never be as funny and interested again but she could live with a glass that was half empty, really.

So, why now? Why did he have to pop up after five years of peace to barge in and disturb all she had build up? He had played her for fools once, she remembered this because she always remembered. And she did not wish to forget because there were many men like Lyon Vastia out there and she really wished to stay away from his kind.

So why was she considering to accept the offer? _She knew better._ She knew far better than to give in to the temptation that was working with the old team, again. The idea of going back was plain ridiculous, she had been so very, very happy to get away from it all. But leave it to Lyon to make her want to reconsider all of this again.

(Because she had never been able to predict him, he had always surprised her.)

She exhaled before she poked the envelope with her forefinger. "What sort of job?" she asked after a moment because she had always been too curious for her own sake. "And I swear, Lyon, if this is not worth my time, _I will end you._"

"Your favourite kind of job," he replied, shrugging. "The complicated kind, the kind where you have to dig deep to get the information you want. Exactly the kind of thing you seem to have specialised in since you left the group. Don't act surprised, you knew we're keeping an eye on you."

She raised her eyebrow. "I can't believe that I am asking for this," she muttered. "Who else in on this job? Because, in all honesty, the old team wasn't the best one you could come up with."

"If you are on, we have Jura as the Architect, my as the Extractor, you as the Point Woman, Yuuka would be the Chemist and Tobi as the Forger," he said. "It would be a good team, you know that."

She closed her eyes and thought.

She remembered the first weeks on her own, the first weeks when she had been lost, when she had had no place to go to. Lyon's team had been her home, always, because she had once left all behind to join. It had been an unhappy time on her own, the colours of the flowers inside the dreams she visited had never been as beautiful as the ones the old Architect of Lyon's Team, a man called Zalty, had created. And it had always rained, too, and so she had hated it, a lot.

But she had managed to pull through, managed to make a name for herself rather than being the Point Man of Team Lyon. People had asked for her, had offered high sums for her to be on a job because she had never let a job fail. Everything that concerned a job was in her head and she had gotten just too good at using instincts of others to her own advantage, playing them like dolls.

This was how she had gained the epithet The Puppeteer.

"In case that I should decline," she started after another sigh, "who would be point man?"

"I have done more than enough assignments with you to have copied the basics," Lyon replied as his eyes narrowed. "It would be, of course, not as elegant as using a full team where everyone has experience with what he or she is doing. However, I cannot force you, can I?"

She smirked slyly. "If the situation was less sever, Lyon, I'd love to see you try," she said amused as she crossed her arms. "Nonetheless, what do you need me for, exactly? You and I, we know my weaknesses and my limitations. If you need me for a Second Level Dream, you can forget it."

"Your dreams became too instable, I know, because of what happened in the Galuna Affair," he nodded. "But actually, yes, I need you for this kind of dream. I trust you, after all."

"Because I never failed you," she said, her cheeks pale and her tongue burning with declarations of eternal love her younger self would have voiced. But this younger self had not been relevant for five years – she had learned to keep her thoughts to herself.

He nodded, as uncomfortable with the topic as she was. "You were the first one I ever recruited," he confessed although they both knew how it was and how little it actually mattered anymore. "It … call me sappy but it wasn't the same without you. You kept the team together in your own, rather weird way. It was hell after that failed job … Tobi died in the dream and Yuuka hated me."

She flinched and threw him a pitying look. "_Ouch_," she said with yet another sigh. She remembered the last time it had happened, back before the Galuna Assignment that had screwed up so much. Back then, after being thrown back to the first level of the dream, she had had to shot Tobi from behind to get him to wake up. It had been an experience she would never be able to shake off completely. Because no matter why, shooting a friend was something she had sworn she would never do. But it had been necessary to get them all out of the mess they had gotten into.

"You see why we need you back, yes?" he asked as he rose and pushed his own sunglasses back onto his nose. "The envelope included a plane ticket. The flight goes tomorrow evening. You have some time to think about this, read the job description, sleep a night over this and … I hope we will see you tomorrow. Jura and Yuuka said they'd work either with you or they'd do it without a point man … in the end, you are still their first choice."

Sherry smiled as she sipped her coffee. "Tell Jura I said hello," she said with a wave. "And that I am happy that he found a decent team this time around … god knows what the messed up team we were on two years back did to my poor nerves, in all honesty, I was surprised to learn he didn't quit the business entirely … after that job, I would have understood if he had."

And then, after emptying her cup of coffee and throwing some coins onto the table, she grabbed her bag and sidestepped Lyon before she disappeared in the crowd. She knew that she would accept the offer. If Lyon was considering it worthy, the pay had to be good.

And it could hardly be that terrible to work with them all again.

Famous last words.


	2. II

**II.**

* * *

The sun was setting and Lyon's gaze roamed over the waiting hall. He spotted Jura's bald head in the distance, the annoying dash of purple that indicated Yuuka's position and right next to him, Tobi. He shifted his gaze, looking at the burning skies. It was beautiful, he mused, but likely in the way the twisted version of Sherry that more often than not ghosted through the dreams he spun was beautiful, in the way a forest in flames was beautiful.

Lyon remembered being younger, being the student of the probably most talented Architect who had ever breathed. Normal Architects managed to create a world, she had created universes before she had fallen so deep that thinking about her was already a painful thing to do.

And finally, he spotted Sherry – _real-life-flesh-and-blood-summer-day-breeze-pretty_ Sherry – in the crowd. For a moment, their eyes met and she nodded slightly before she disappeared from his sight. She fit into the pattern they had prepared without any instruction because this was, after all, still her team and five years meant nothing compared to the long years they had spent in dreams, stealing secrets and doing the impossible.

Lyon was no idiot, he was not Gray who danced through dreams with his jolly band of moronic followers and who never quite realised what he was doing to his Chemist – poor Juvia Lockser, falling for a moron like Gray. Lyon had always been painfully aware of the fact that Sherry had – _once upon a time and many broken promises ago_ – been in love with him. He had known and he had not cared. She was pleasant enough to keep around and smart enough not to bring it up. He had been cruel to her because he had ignored her and so it had not surprised him when she had quit the team and had pursued her own career rather than being his tag-along.

He had let her leave – or so he liked to think. In all honesty, she would have left with or without his consent because after that screwed-up Galuna Assignment, she had been done with him and his games and her disappearance had been a slap into his face which had proven to be rather helpful for his character growth.

She appeared seemingly out of nowhere next to him, sitting down and opening a magazine. "I'll go back to my own life after this," she muttered under her breathe and he heard in her voice how tired she had to be, how sick she was of love which had once been her favourite thing – but as she had said herself, she was no eighteen-year-old girl anymore.

"I see," he replied as he noted the absence of softness in her voice. "How's what's-his-name?"

She flinched slightly. "Rena and I never got around to marry," she said after a moment, her eyes trained onto her magazine. "Better said … I broke up things before our wedding. It wouldn't have worked out, in the end, and I didn't want to have to hurt him, you see?"

He averted his gaze, focusing on Jura's bald head once again. "Which makes you a far better person than myself," he replied after a second as the familiar feeling of guilt churned in his stomach. No matter how happy he was that she had rejoined the team, he knew that she would leave again soon enough. Because although he had learned his lesson, he would have to betray her.

Again.

But at least, he would be prepared this time around because he was betraying her faith on purpose and he knew the consequences, he knew what happened with those who crossed Sherry Blendy. He knew her and he knew the way she absolutely loathed being used for something she did not approve of. (And he highly doubted that she would understand what he had to do.)

But he could not afford to panic, at least not yet.

It would instantly cause her to be suspicious and she had to trust him blindly for his plan to succeed. He knew that she was wary, that she had not forgotten his betrayal – because he had betrayed her when he had chosen his ego over her safety. He knew that she had worked hard to avoid him, that she had cancelled jobs last minute after hearing that he would be part of the crew as well. He was the person she would sell her soul to forget – which was kind of flattering.

But, he mused, could someone as emotional as her truly stop loving someone that easily? He hoped that she had not stopped – at least not completely – because she had never questioned his decisions because she had loved him. Some sort of lingering affection might cloud her judgement far enough for him to manage to pull through with his plan before she made it all fall apart.

After this job was done, she would hate him. There was no room for him to doubt this. And it was fair and just, she deserved better than being used again and again by a man who was stuck in his past and who wanted to avenge someone who had been lost for the longest time. But if she hated him, she would be safe because she would lose any motivation to ever work with him again. She would finally be able to move on completely from what used to be a beautiful dream of teamwork and partnership – or better said, what used to be an _illusion_ of those things.

He allowed himself to look at her for a moment before he continued to speak. "It's nice to have you back," he said but the words were heavy on his tongue because he felt like the worst person on earth because of the betrayal he had plotted weeks ago. "Someone needs to keep those big kids in line once we go in … and I think that no one was ever quite as good at that as you."

This was the truth and he decided to focus on truths as long as he could. It would make the final move far more painful and frankly, _uglier_. Then again, betrayal was always an ugly thing and he wondered how much time he had left before her ocean blue eyes would narrow with anger and hatred. Then again, being too nice would make her suspicious as well because he had never been really nice to her. But then again, he could not treat her like a tool either.

"It feels good to be back, too," she replied, her voice wavering a little, before she turned her head and smiled. It was her old smile, the smile that took him back to white beaches and the blue sea, to crystal blue winter skies and empty snow-covered landscapes. This smile was the last connection she still seemed to have to the old Sherry, the girl she had been once. He had nearly missed the smile after it had disappeared when the old Sherry had turned into the tougher and wiser woman she was nowadays.

He nodded silently before he chuckled at Tobi's antics. "You see, they haven't changed," he stated with a shrug. "It is usually better once Jura is there to keep an eye on them."

"Absolutely," she said with a nod and her smile turned into a smirk. "It has been a while since I worked with Jura but I am sure it will be great. As far as Architects go, there aren't many who play in the same league as him … and you," she added with a sigh. "And you aren't in that business anymore, are you? Which is a real shame, you were amazing."

He flinched slightly at her praise. "He is better, calmer when it comes to improvisation. And he has usually at least nine back-up plans whereas I had never a single one," he replied. "I heard you tried your hand as an Architect some months back in a job?" he asked.

"Urgh, yes," she confirmed. "But it seems like I am not suited for being an Architect since my ability is better suited to be the Dreamer instead of the builder. Also, Lyon, be careful. In case you are plotting something, keep in mind that it's also Jura you are messing with. He doesn't exactly appreciate sudden surprises. And, truth be told, neither do I."

"There used to be a time when you considered sudden surprises as occasions to prove yourself," he remarked as he raised his eyebrow. "Actually, this is your reputation in the business … that you accept challenging jobs because you just hate it when it's all too easy and too obvious."

"I was talking about the kind of surprise where someone isn't telling the team everything," she said as she closed her magazine. "Like it happened during the Galuna Assignment. I don't having to change an entire plan all of a sudden just because someone decided to hide something from me. Like, well, it happened before. I don't like facing consequences of someone else's … faulty judgement. The thing that happened with Heartfilia was something that shouldn't have happened and it wouldn't have happened if you had told us the entire story beforehand."

He clenched his jaw and nodded slowly. Of course, she was already wary enough because of what had happened once before. But this did not change much, it only meant he had more careful around her than around the others. It was weird that she was working with him again in the first place as she obviously had not forgotten the time when he had been someone she would have taken a goddamn bullet for in real life – only to realise that he held the gun.

"You can trust me," he said and was suddenly reminded of the snake in the movie he had once used to watch with Gray when they had been far younger and far more naïve. "I wouldn't let you run into a another knife, I promise."

More lies, more honey on the blade he would sent into her chest soon enough.

"Can I now?" she asked quietly before she grabbed her bag and boarded the plane.


	3. III

**III.**

* * *

The dream Sherry had build was closer to perfect than anything she had ever created before and so she smiled as she watched the others looking around in awe although dread churned in her stomach. She had worked with Jura before and it was easy for her to incorporate the mazes he built into the dream. Usually, Jura would act as the Dreamer because it was easier that way but for whatever reason, Lyon had insisted on having her dreaming – likely because of a prior experience he had made with Jura, something Sherry did not know about. And she would not ask, she would not let any emotions slip during this assignment. She would treat this job like any other, no matter how far more difficult it would turn out to be in the end.

But Sherry was hating this entire job and she hated the way she had been talked into working with Lyon – who had not changed at all – again. He was still not saying everything and she knew that she was likely the only one who had noticed the short moment of hesitation he had had shortly before they had completed the first level. She had also been the only one to notice the familiar faces in the crowds and the way those people moved differently from the others.

This was like the cursed Galuna Assignment, only _worse_.

And frankly, she hated the level she had created. She hated the way Jura patted her shoulder, complimenting her for this achievement because he had not looked through Lyon's masquerade yet and she had and she not telling him which made her an unwilling accomplice. And the thing she hated the most was that she could not reveal Lyon's secret to the team without risking that they would not achieve the objective – whatever that was.

They had reached the second level without a problem, it had been easy for them. Things were working well and Sherry observed how Lyon was getting calmer with every passing moment. At the same time, she noticed how his hands were trembling slightly which was a dead giveaway.

For this reason, she was not surprised when Lyon declared the necessity of a third level upon finishing the second level. She knew him too well, having been the first one he had ever recruited – which was something she took (probably too much) pride in because it mattered not half as much as she would like it too. She was not irreplaceable to him, not even after becoming the most skilled point man there was and one of the best dreamers in the business.

She had been right from the start, from the moment this weird feeling had crept up on her at the airport. Lyon was not only hiding something, he also wished to deceive the team – likely because it was something none of them would ever support. This was too much like the goddamn Inception they had done in the Galuna Assignment. He had tricked them then as well.

But she stayed silent as she heard Yuuka's protest and she only continued to watch as they prepared for the next level because when everything failed, she had one weapon none of them had. She had more experience in three-level-dreams than all of them combined because lately, she had been strictly hired for this sort of dream. She knew what she had to do, she knew the rules and she knew how to bend them a little.

"…seriously, Vastia, if we go onto the Third, Limbo is only a moment away," Yuuka said as he readied the needed devices. "And really, no one of us wants to end up in Limbo, doomed to wander around until our brains turn to mush. We can go deeper – but what are we here for, anyway? If this is another inception, I will quit this assignment here and now. We said never again."

"No inception," Lyon promised with a sigh. "Really, I am not lying to you, Yuuka. I learned my lesson about inception. The last time, it was necessary. This time, there is another goal … one you don't have to worry about because I am the Extractor and I am the only one who has to know. Let's just continue … or does anyone else have doubts about this?" he asked and looked around, his pale eyes shining with impatience – and something different, something guarded.

"No inception," Sherry said slowly before she closed her eyes and lowered her head. She felt ashamed at her inability to tell the team that Lyon was plotting something, something that was probably extremely dangerous but this was a price she had paid before, being the most favoured confident of a dangerous man had never come without sever disadvantages after all.

"Thank you," he said before he lay down on the couch. "Then, team, let's go down deeper … we have all that's needed to keep the dream stable, so don't worry about this, yes? We will be fine."

If only Sherry knew him not too well to hear the lie. Whatever he was plotting – and she saw all the little signs by now, he would not be _fine_. Lyon was a good team leader, perhaps the best in the scene but aside from his unfortunate habit to keep secrets, but from what she had last heard about him, he seemed to have developed a certain habit of taking the bullet for his teammates when it was absolutely necessary – and this was something that Sherry had never liked. Sure, when it happened literally, he usually would just wake up. But she had a bad feeling nonetheless.


	4. IV

**IV.**

* * *

The place was different from what Lyon had expected.

Entering the Limbo had been his objective, the reason why he had assembled his team for an assignment that had never existed in the first place. It had been necessary, all of it had been necessary – but that did not mean that it did not hurt – because it hurt a lot, all the lies he had told them, the final betrayal. He had needed Yuuka to dream the first level, Sherry for the second and finally, Jura for the third. He had needed all of them – well, a Forger had not been necessary but he had had to convince them that it was a normal assignment – because there had never been another group of people he would have trusted to get him down here and to convince them, he had needed a complete team.

"Sorry," he muttered as he made a hesitant first step.

So, this was the Limbo.

He had expected something akin to a post-apocalyptic world, a desert, wasteland. Instead, the place was wide and green – like a garden. Ruins of buildings people who had ended up there beforehand stood tall, retaining a shadow of their former dignity. But he saw not a single person in what seemed to be a paradise. So in the end, even this place was like another dream level that had to be filled with life and ideas.

He bent down and touched the ground which felt incredibly real. He mused if the team had realised by now that he had not woken up with them after the supposed completion of the task and for a moment, he felt guilty because he had tricked them all.

"…this is it, huh?"

He flinched at the sudden voice and turned his head before he lost his ability to speak. He had seen Sherry angry before but she had never been this livid. She approached him, somehow faster than he had anticipated, and crossed her arms over her chest as she reached him.

"What the fuck do you want in this place?" she snapped as she glared at him. "If you stay too long, your brain with turn into mush and you will die. Are you suicidal?"

"Why did you follow me?" he asked as he closed his eyes, trying to tune her out. "Why did you _always_ follow me, Sherry? What was so goddamn special about me that you cared in the first place? I talked with Jura before I asked you to come back – he said you never cared about anyone but yourself for the longest time – so why me?"

In the distance, a building collapsed and another caught fire.

"When you first recruited me, you were a brilliant Architect," she replied with a shrug and attempted to hide her thoughts behind indifference. "The dreams you built were _perfect_ … and I guess that I liked to pretend that you were perfect as well. I was a naïve kid when I joined the team, I never claimed otherwise. I think I fell in love with your dreams, with your creations. And actually, I started caring because I liked to imagine that you cared as well … which was stupid and foolish."

"You weren't a fool," he said slowly. "When had you figured it out?"

"At the end of level two," she said, "but something felt off since the airport. I met your brother's Chemist there … she was on the same flight … stood in front of me in the queue at the check-in … and when I looked around, I saw the rest of your brother's team … so actually, I was unsurprised to see them inside the dream … didn't stop me from taking them out during the second level … so if you wondered why Gray failed to shot you on the third, I prevented it."

"…and you didn't tell the others because…?" he inquired as he took up walking.

"The dream would have collapsed," she replied calmly as she followed him. "Although, I was curious what made you reckless enough to want to enter Limbo. This place isn't a good one."

"You have been here?"

"When Heartfilia killed me during the Galuna Assignment as I was on the third level," she said as she mentioned towards some buildings and shrugged. "I didn't forget that I was dreaming, you see? I kept the control … and flung myself of that building over there to return to life … I was never much of a creature so the limitless power you have here did not interest me at all."

"Did you met someone here?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

She nodded as she mentioned to a entirely absurd building, one made of ice. "She is here," she said slowly. "I have heard you and your brother wonder why her brain is still active even after those years she spend here … it's because she figured the problem out. Time here passes fast, faster than time in the real life. So all the impression of a decade, of a century happen within seconds out there. The magic of this place is really a curse, one that kills softly. You kill your brain by playing god for too long. Which is why she build one place and then, she stopped."

"Why didn't you tell anyone that you were here?" he asked as he frowned.

"You know how they get – remember how Yuuka refused to work with Laxus Dreyar because there are faint rumours in the business that he might have once been here … coming out of the Limbo is something hardly anyone manages … because – as they say – power corrupts," she said with a sigh as she walked gracefully, her totem in her hand.

"I am sorry," he said as they approached the tower that looked like it had been made of ice which was – knowing Ur's many sides – more than likely. "But you knew that, didn't you, right?"

"Yes," she confirmed before she turned around and twisted the totem – a heart made of glass – in her hand. "I won't be there when you wake up, okay? As I said, I am done playing your little games, Lyon, I probably will ditch the entire game, I might become a writer or something. I guess … this is goodbye … and please, don't come looking for me. That will only hurt me even more."

He was unable to stop her as she backflipped – when had he forgotten that she had once been an gymnast, again? – and then, she fell into a conveniently opening gap, her presence fading out.


	5. V

**V.**

* * *

She was drinking red wine and she watched the people on the streets, a faint smile on her face. It had been years since she had last been there in this restaurant but after coming back, she had been in need of a break and so she had returned to her hometown to bring flowers to her parents' graves and then, after dressing up, she had decided to go out by herself.

She had another three weeks before she would start her new job, one outside of the business in the dream world – because she had had enough adrenaline kicks in her lifetime – and this new job would pay her bills. For the first time since the day she had been introduced to the high art of dream sharing, she felt like her life was more than just "okay".

She was actually happy.

She had chatted with her cousin for the first time since she had left Lyon's team five years ago and she had learned that Chelia was about to get married and aside from receiving a pretty invitation, she had also been scolded by her aunt and reminded to keep in touch. Sherry had accepted all of this because really, it was better than having yet another fight with her.

"Mind if I sit down here?" a dreadfully familiar voice asked as Lyon slid onto the other seat, facing her. Suddenly, she remembered a sunny café, only three-and-a-half weeks ago and her jaw clenched because this time, she would stand her ground and not go back.

"I actually do," she said as she poured more wine into her glass. "What's the matter?"

"Mom woke up," he said with a small smile before he looked at his hands. "We weren't allowed to see her for a while. Gray freaked out at that, his Chemist had to sedate him – pretty pathetic if you ask me. And well, uh, we saw her last week before she went to the rehabilitation centre … and she told me to go and look for the _'girl that looks like a princess who escaped her fairy tale'_ and to tell her that she said hi … however," he interrupted himself and smiled slightly, "you don't look much like a fairy tale princess today."

She snorted as she looked down at herself. She was wearing an old leather jacket a boyfriend from once upon a time had left behind in her apartment after breaking up with her, ripped up jeans and a shirt that had seen better times, too. But for a change, she did not care much about that because she had never been a vain fashion girl – unlike Heartfilia and Scarlet, really.

"Wine?" she asked, twirling the empty glass between her fingers. "And unless you want to talk me into another job, I may let you stay … as long as you pay the bill in the end, of course."

"Really, I am honoured," he said as he rolled his eyes. "But no, I have quit the scene as well. Gray didn't, of course. I had a long conversation with mom … and she said that unless I really wanted to stay, she would prefer me leaving because she felt like I might end up like her … and she seems to be … scared of just that … I have applied for a real architect job, I would like that."

"I never would have thought that you might end up leaving," she said as she handed him the glass. "I would have guessed that you would have been scared of your brother's reaction."

"I got mom out of limbo – Gray owes me big time," the white-haired man said with a shrug.

She rolled her eyes before she waved at the waiter to place her order. "You know, Lyon, you're a funny guy without ever really trying," she said amused. "It will be hard for you."

"I am a capable guy," he said as he sipped on the wine. "What will you do now? Where are you going after leaving the business? What does point man translate into?"

"Personal assistant," she replied with a shrug. "It is not glamorous and not the greatest thing in the world but according to the faked references, that's what I did before so I will do it for a while before I move on to greater things. You know me, it will work out for me. It always does."

She had once nearly hated him for the way he had been so cold, so cruel. But really, it had been what had taught her to love herself more than anyone else who would never love her as much back. Sherry did not need a man because she was perfectly capable of living a happy life on her own. She needed no one to carry anything for her because she was stronger than that.

But sometimes, she wanted someone in her life, someone who would lay down with her under the wide windows of her new living room to watch the stars, never talking, just breathing. She wished for the silence because in the years of dream sharing, there had never been much silence in her life and while once upon a time, she had liked it, she thought differently now.

(Although she still did not know how she felt, exactly, but well, she would have time to figure it out, right?)

"Personal assistant," Lyon repeated with a smirk. "Who would have guessed, huh?"

She pressed her lips together. "The Lamia Cooperation is a prestigious one," she said, "but well, I said that I never planned on staying there forever. I … I don't think I am cut out for this settling-down-thing .. although I really wished I was, you know? God, I am twenty-five and all I have to my name are some borderline-illegal-activities, some failed relationships and a broken-up engagement. So really, I should probably prepare myself for being the family's embarrassment."

"I got a job at Lamia as well," he shrugged. "And I doubt that you'd be the embarrassment. You got a degree in something, didn't you? So you got a little more to your name, 'kay? I am the one who had to sit through dinner with mom, Ultear, her fiancé, Gray and his girlfriend the evening before mom was transferred … and mom was disappointed with me … she wants grandkids."

"And Ultear and Gray cannot provide her with them?" Sherry asked as she raised her eyebrow.

"My guess is that she wants a bunch of grandchildren who all adore her and run to her when they have trouble with that respective parents so that she has a new purpose … she is done with dream sharing as well, not that this comes as a surprise," he shrugged. "But yes, one would think that Gray and Ultear would do an amazing job at producing the grandkids she wants so much."

Sherry nodded slowly before she smiled at him. "I would like to meet her one day," she said. "It is probably mere curiosity on my part … but I wonder what she is like on this side."

"You can give me your number and I can call you when she is back," he shrugged. "Then again, we will work for the same enterprise soon enough and so tracking you down will be less of a challenge … still, I'd like to have your number … for, uh, reasons."

She smirked at him. "That's not a good enough reason," she replied amused.

"I had feared as much," he sighed. "But, um, yeah … I had a question … you followed me into limbo … why would you do such a thing? This place is … I saw what it did to mom."

"I knew what I was doing," she said slowly as her hand wrapped itself around the totem in her pocket, knowing that she would never throw it away. "Also, didn't I once promise you everywhere? I may have been a foolish teenager girl … but when I make a promise, I keep it."

"You are a crazy one," he told her with a sigh as he shook his head. "Really, I don't want to insult you … but, why would you do such a crazy thing? Just because of a promise?"

"I think I was never good at meeting the expectations," she shrugged at the waiter set down the plate of steaming pasta in front of her. "I was supposed to be past caring … I was supposed to be through with you, your childish ambitions and all of that … but really, I don't think I ever was."

"I don't think it's good for you to care about me," he said quietly, his eyes serious.

"No, it's not," she nodded. "However, you see, you and the team, it was the closest I ever had to a place to call home … and I think that this was what made me stay for so long … let's face it, even before the mess called Galuna Assignment I should have left."

He stayed silent and looked at his own plate of pasta.

"But, you see, I was happy to have found a place to belong to," she continued, "and I actually don't regret my time on your team … because it was no waste of time, I learned a lot, not just about dream-sharing but also about people and I think … this is what I really wanted."

"So you don't regret anything at all?" he asked as he raised his eyebrow.

"Oh, I do have certain regrets, yes, like being so bitter about some things … but no, I don't regret a day of being one of Team Lyon … because it made me happy to have a purpose."

"You were important to the team," he said softly. "Really, you always were."

"Yes," she nodded and old sadness crossed her face, "I was just never important enough."

"You were," he replied and for a moment, she wished she could actually believe him before she shook her head – because she could not. She had learned her lesson again and again, he was not good for her and the best for her would be to vanish from the face of the earth because she would end up hurt again and really, there had been so much pain in her life and she was rather sure that it all would fall apart – and she would die inside.

Again.

"You have always been a good liar, Lyon Vastia," she said quietly before she raised her gaze. "But never good enough to lie to me … which is a shame, living in a world of lies cannot be that bad."


	6. VI

**VI.**

* * *

The building of the Lamia Cooperation in Fiore's prettiest city, Lilietta, was exactly the sort of building Lyon saw no appeal in because it lacked any sort of creativity, of inspiration. Then again, this was the real world and here, buildings had to follow certain rules – rules his past creations had never had to obey because in the dream world, physics were unimportant.

In any case, Lyon did not allow himself to snort at the supposedly innovative glass door as he made his way to his new office. This place was not perfect but it was real and according to his mother, he needed to return to reality and to learn how to live in it. Ur's exact words had been "You can't hide in dreams that don't even belong to you all your life, Lyon" and he had known that she was right … which had hardly come as a surprise because there was no one who had been in the scene as long as her and doubting her experience would mean to severely insult her.

Hanging his coat and his jacket onto the hooks at the door, he sat down at the desk and waited for his future team to shuffle in, feeling slightly irritated because his old team – Yuuka, Tobi, Jura and Sherry – had always been extremely punctual and now, those new people were all late and he was not a fan of people who were too late all the time. It was highly impolite in his eyes.

"I apologise for the delay," the young woman who finally stumbled in said as she dropped a stack of papers and a tray of coffee on her desk. "I ran into one of the higher-ups on my way and she asked me to get coffee and the papers as it's your first real day, Mr … Vastia."

He looked at her and was confused at both her youth and her bright pink hair. "It's no big deal," he said, hesitating for a moment as he noticed that he did not know her name so far.

"Chelia," she supplied as she sorted out the papers, nearly pushing the coffee to the ground as she turned a little, "Chelia Blendy. It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr Vastia."

He rose and took one of the coffees from the tray, carefully evacuating the rest. "You wouldn't happen to be related to someone called Sherry Blendy, would you?" he asked with a frown.

"She is my cousin," the young woman replied with a small shrug. "She called me last evening and told me that she will be working for Mr Justine from the eighth floor … he's a okay guy, I had hoped that I would be assigned to his team after the spot opened up but it seemed like he heard she had had applied and then, he went and asked for her by name."

This was no surprise for Lyon, not at all.

Freed Justine was one of the known names in the scene and from what his sourced had told him along the years in which Sherry had graced the team with her absence, Freed and Sherry had worked together for a few jobs before the team known as the Thundergod Tribe had reunited and even afterwards, Freed had hailed Sherry the best "uh, point woman in the scene" which had caused his original point woman – a certain Evergreen Strauss – to be a little annoyed with him for a while which had pleased no one.

For Freed to come in and snatch Sherry away for himself and whatever project he was working on made sense because Freed was a bit of a bastard who liked to toy around with other people's emotions and – to quote Lisanna Strauss – "giggle while they cry but that's probably 'cause he hung around Mira for too long". Also, Lyon knew that Freed had never liked him all that much so the green-haired man probably saw it as some sort of justice.

"Freed, huh?" Lyon muttered, his brows furrowing. "What is he working as in this place?"

"He does is the head of the creative department, he mostly develops advertisements and stuff like this … also, it is said that their department have the best working climate, they go out for drinks each Friday after work and have meetings in coffee shops sometimes to get rid of the sterile conference rooms," Chelia said cheerfully as she finally finished the sorting and dumped the neat stacks on Lyon's desk. "I'm sure that Sherry will love working there … and Mr Justine has said that he needs someone who is good at organising things and coming up with last minute solutions and for some reason, he thinks that Sherry can do this."

Lyon was not sure why he was unhappy with Sherry working for Freed of all people. Freed was, compared to other acquaintances (especially Bixslow whatever-his-last-name-was and Laxus Dreyar), a gentleman who would behave properly around Sherry, someone who would respect her and this was basically what she deserved because she was a good person and good people deserved happiness – or at least this was what Lyon thought.

Still, he did not know why, it just annoyed him for unknown reason that Freed had gotten Sherry as his personal assistant because Freed once worked with Laxus Dreyar and Laxus was Lyon's least favourite person in the whole wide world so perhaps this was why it annoyed him.

Before Lyon could comment, however, the door was opened and Sherry walked in, dressed in a grey suit and her hair bound into a messy bun. She did not see him and merely headed over to Chelia, accepting one of the coffees her cousin was holding out to her. Flipping her braid over her shoulder, she leaned against the table and sipping her coffee. "Creative department is hell on earth," she muttered under her breath, wiping a dot of purple paint of her cheek. "Working with Justine, on the other hand, is a fun enough experience."

"Is that so?" Lyon asked, forcing himself not to sound bitter. "Morning, Sherry, by the way."

She nodded at him. "Long time no see, Lyon," she said before she sipped on her coffee. "Vanilla latte, Chelia? You know me far too well, I guess. Anyway, I dropped by to check in with you, Lia, because of the wedding. You said that you needed my help, yes?"

And Lyon saw the line on her forehead, the line that was barely there but he saw it. He remembered Sherry mentioning her three years younger cousin, he remembered Sherry saying that Chelia was always the golden girl, adored by everyone. He remembered Sherry's admittance that she likely would never settle down because she just not felt cut out for something like this, a belief likely forged by the job she used to have. A job he dragged her into because she had been the top graduate of her class and rather than letting her become a lawyer or something like this, he had brought her into a world of illusions and half-truths.

"Uh, yes, but … I think I should work, right?" Chelia asked and Lyon nearly pitied her. It was obvious that the young Blendy had never experienced Sherry when Sherry was on a roll because those who had knew better than to interrupt Sherry when she felt like she had to work something out. Yuuka had once made the mistake of interrupting her once and her anger had been terrifying but then again, most women were scary when something they cared for was in danger.

"Until the rest of the team comes in, you and Sherry can chat, Miss Blendy," Lyon sighed as he sat down at his desk and flipped open a folder. "Although, Sherry, I wonder why you aren't at work."

"Mr Justine – Freed – sent all of us on a break when good old Mirajane Strauss marched it and started talking about wedding stuff and so I have my first break less than an hour after starting," she replied with a shrug. "And your team hasn't even arrived yet? They obviously have not a single clue who you are, have they?"

He smirked over the edge of his folder. "No, they don't," he agreed. "This lack of punctuality worries me … I think that it is hardly becoming for a member of an enterprise as prestigious as the Lamia Cooperation … truth be told, I am disappointed."

"Be nice," Sherry said as she shook her head. "They don't know you yet … but of course, being too late on the first day of the new superior shows a certain disregard for said superior."

"You are subtle as always, Sherry," he said as he rolled his eyes. "Say, since we ended up in the same building and all … would you mind going out for some drinks today after work? It has been a while since we just hung out and, um, yes. I was kinda worried when you didn't call."

He knew that he was being unfair, that she would hardly decline while her cousin was listening to their conversation because more than anything else, Sherry hated looking bad in front of her family and there was little she would not to avoid just that because she was a little bitter.

She turned her head and waved at him as a smirk grew on her lips. "It doesn't seem that I will ever get away from you so yeah, let's go out for some drinks," she said amused.

"Did you just compare me to bubblegum stuck under your shoe?" he asked as he raised the eyebrow. "In that case, I am impressed 'cause you found something entirely new to call me."

He watched how she bent over as she laughed too hard to stand straight and he smiled slightly. He remembered telling his mother about the woman Ur had called a princess-who-fell-out-of-her-fairy-tale and he remembered his mother trying to hit him with whatever newspaper she had been reading when he had admitted to having played Sherry to achieve his dream. He remembered Ur – who had always been painfully blunt – looking at him in disappointment and saying "A woman who is willed to enter Limbo to save your sorry brain would supported you all the way – and by not trusting her, you hurt both of you" and after tuning out Gray's smug laughter, Lyon had realised that Ur was absolutely right.

So as Sherry turned to leave after making an appointment at the designer where Chelia wanted to buy her dress, he rested his hand on her shoulder. "If you want to and if you are willed to give me another chance I don't deserve, it can be a date," he said quietly.

She smiled, leaned over to peck his cheek and danced away – because only mere mortals walked and Sherry Blendy was no such person. She was better, more forgiving – and Lyon liked it just that away.


End file.
